Alive
by Regal Panther
Summary: An old, decrepit house made new; a family of three find their place in life; two lonely boys make a family of friends. And three children grow together, leaning on each other and completing a trio of unbeatable loyalty and incorruptible friendship.
1. Prologue: The House

**The House**

The house down the street wasn't a newer model. No - its roof sagged a bit in the middle, like a concerned parent's creased forehead. A couple of front windows were cracked, like broken reading glasses, obscuring the house's view of the rest of the street. The outside paint was peeling, ivy climbed the walls and slowly destroyed the brick, and weeds disintegrated the stonework of the walkway and patio. Indeed, the house was much like an old man, worn down from a long, hard life with ungrateful children who wanted nothing from him but their inheritance, waiting for him to finally die and leave everything behind. But those children would have to wait - the old man had found a new lease on life, a second wind, a reason to get up from his favourite chair again despite the fact that his wife had died, leaving him all alone.

The old house, abandoned for years, had been bought by a family of three - a single mother with a tired gait and a bright smile, toting along her two young children, both with dimpled smiles and excited laughter and easy-going attitudes. They brought new life to the old house, fixing the roof, getting new windows and doors, repairing the patio, replacing the stones in the walkway, chipping, sand-blasting, and repainting the outer walls, and working miracles on the interior. They brought new life to the run-down building, a certain light that only came with cluttered bedrooms and framed photos of friends and family that littered the walls, filling the place with still-frame smiles and tiny peeks into the world beyond the windows.

The interior went from browns and beiges to yellows, reds, oranges, blues, and greens. An entire wall was devoted to finger-paintings by the kids, to be completed with great reverence when the family settled in. The kitchen was completely refreshed, shiny appliances glittering in anticipation for their new tenants. Landscapers were hired to dig up the dried-out earth, replace it with fresh, nutritious, soggy dirt that would grow green new grass, replacing the scraggly, yellow stalks of old. A garden was placed, some basic flowers planted, soon joined by those selected by the family of three, bring a rainbow-hued collection of plants to the front of the house. The whole place seemed to exude life now, whereas it had once seemed to suck all hope and vitality from its surroundings. The fence was replaced with a high wooden one, dark-stained wood that gave privacy and safety to the house's occupants.

And one day, a car finally made the redone driveway its throne, a dirt-streaked navy four-door sedan with stickers covering the back windows that brought with it two gloriously innocent children, naive and wondrous in their potential for life, to bring happiness to a once dead place. It brought also a hardworking mother, with her work and her suits and her clacking high heels that echoed throughout the entire house, declaring their owner gone for work or home for the day. A cat prowled the street and watched the other houses, resembling more a hawk than a feline. It stood guard over the children of the home, watching the interactions with the welcoming, cheery neighbours, who had been given hope by the sudden transformation of the house. A dog kept safe the enclosed yards, warning away those who would harm the newly christened home. And the two children, ever happy and ever hopeful, brought life to the painted-over old man of a building, still old but with new clothes, new glasses, and a new philosophy.

Live while you still have life left.


	2. Year 1: Awesome new friend

**Year 1**

Abelard watched the transformation of the house across the street occur over a period of four months, from March to June. He had his own two nephews to watch over, given to him by his deadbeat brother who had left the world in a blaze of stupidity. His wife had left for Germany, expressing no want for the boys, and so they had been lawfully handed over to him, the responsible, well-known business man with absolutely no practical experience with handling anyone under the age of twenty. He did his best to keep them out of trouble and teach them good moral and ethical values, but he wasn't the best at communicating and it seemed that children required more attention than he could afford to give. So a nanny had been hired, a kindly old Egyptian woman who lived on the corner of the street with her antisocial husband. The boys had taken to her almost immediately, calling her Teta - the Egyptian word for grandmother - and soon presenting her as family to everyone they met. Mr. Saeed, another neighbour, was also dear to the young ones.

At the moment, they were both sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for the man they had started to call _Vati (dad) _since a young age to come and feed them. "_Vati!_" the older one called in his scratchy little voice. "We're hungry!"

"Patience, Gilbert," was the calm reply. The tall blond made his way to the stove, where a pot of potatoes sat idling, waiting for the neighbouring wurst to be ready. "A few more minutes, _ja (yeah)_? Then we'll eat."

Gilbert pouted and whined a bit more, but fell silent soon enough, watching his uncle like a hawk. His younger brother, also with blue eyes and blond hair, sat completely silent in his chair, staring blankly ahead. He only moved when the food was placed on the table, at which point he waited for his uncle to serve him, as his chubby arms were much too short to reach anything but his own plate. Gilbert dug in eagerly to his meal, mashing potatoes with his fork and chomping down on wurst like he hadn't seen food in weeks. His younger brother took a much calmer pace, the same as his uncle, who merely watched with vague amusement as the kids ate in completely differing manners.

They finished lunch quickly and he spent a brief time cleaning before picking up both boys and bringing them to their shared room. "We're going to greet the new neighbours," he said calmly in their native tongue, German. "So we need to clean ourselves up a bit."

"Bath?" the younger one asked curiously, turning cool blue eyes up at the adult.

"No!" Gilbert pouted, kicking his feet. He hated baths until he was actually in the water, at which point he'd refuse to get out. His brother, on the other hand, was much more easy-going when it came to bathing. He got in, cleaned up, and got out.

It took a while to get them both clean, then clean up the bathroom after Gilbert made a mess splashing water all over the place, and get them both to sit still while the older male tidied up. Well, it was really just the paler child who fussed about sitting still, wanting to go outside and climb a tree or fight "monsters". Still, he managed, and actually got them to dress nicely. While the younger boy, only two and a half, was very calm, he absolutely hated clothes that didn't resemble cloaks. He would always put the hood up, or wear one of his uncle's hats and parade around, declaring himself an emperor. Still, he agreed to wear normal clothes and toddled after his older brother as Gilbert raced around naked, trying to avoid getting dressed simply to annoy the adult who chased him with shirt and shorts in hand.

After a long, childish debate about the benefits of actually wearing clothes in public, the three set off down the street to greet the new neighbours. Gilbert ran back and forth, smiling and energetic while trying to catch a squirrel, and Ludwig, the younger one, simply sat in his uncle's arms and watched with a disapproving glare while his brother tired himself out. Barely. "Gilbert, come," the man called out, waving the boy forward. He rang the doorbell, a basket full of smoked trout, _foie gras_, a loaf of pumpernickel, bratwurst, spargel, packets of spices, black forest cake, and a traditional German red fruit pudding called _Rote Grutze_ in hand. He listened closely, and let out a mental sigh of relief when Gilbert came to stand by his uncle's leg. The man placed a gentle hand on the young boy's shoulders, adding a small smile when he grinned up at him.

The door opened after a moment to reveal a relatively short, brown-haired woman with a welcoming smile. "Hello!" she said.

"_Guten morgen_," the tall blonde replied. "Ah, excuse me. Good morning, miss. I am Abelard Beilschmidt, these are my nephews - Ludwig and Gilbert."

"Hallo." Ludwig waved calmly.

"Hallo!" Gilbert cried, grinning at the woman. "I'm the awesome older brother!"

"I can see that," she laughed. Abelard noticed her high cheekbones and dark eyes and figured that she was partly Lebanese. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Selena."

"We would like to welcome you to the neighbourhood," the German continued, holding out the picnic basket. "This contains some traditional German foods, and some _foie gras_."

"Oh, thank you!" she replied, taking the basket and hanging it over her arm. "I'll just be a moment... oh, come in, go right ahead and make yourselves at home!" she decided, waving them in. Gilbert looked to his uncle in askance, who shrugged minutely and nodded. The pale boy grinned and danced into the house, looking around with an expression of awe. Ludwig squirmed a bit and his uncle placed him on the ground, allowing him to waddle after his brother and grab the older sibling's hand. Gilbert immediately tugged the younger one closer in a protective manner, eyes still combing the living room full of colour and life. "Lauren, Brent, come downstairs!" she called

"Okay!" came a muffled reply, and a door opened upstairs. A moment later a five year old girl pattered down the stairs, followed by a two old boy who clutched at the banister for support, watching the strangers with wide chocolate brown eyes. "Hello, my name is Lauren! I'm five." She held up a hand to Abelard, who stooped down a bit to shake it.

"Hello. I am Abelard Beilschmidt. I am forty-one. It's very nice to meet you, Lauren." She smiled brightly and he couldn't help but return it a bit. "Those are my nephews, Gilbert and Ludwig."

"That's Brent. He's my little brother." She pointed to the boy who had just reached the last step, refraining from descending the final stair and instead holding his arms out to his mother. "You have a funny way of talking," she said, staring at the blonde man.

"That is because I have a German accent, since I am from Germany," he explained patiently.

"Oh. I like your eyes, they're a nice colour blue."

He blinked, startled by the unexpected praise. "Thank you. That is a very nice thing to say." She smiled again and turned to Gilbert, who placed his fists on his hips and gave her a haughty expression.

"Since I am so awesome, you can be my friend!" Lauren was silent a moment, as though considering his proposal, then shook her head.

"I'm more awesome," she corrected. "So you can be _my_ friend."

"Nuh-uh! I'm more awesome!" Gilbert reiterated, crossing his arms.

"I am!" Lauren countered, doing the same and sticking her tongue out momentarily.

"Why don't you be each other's friend?" Abelard suggested, hoping to avoid any shouting matches. The children looked up at him, one with eyes so familiar yet so strange, one with brilliant golden ones that seemed to pierce his very soul.

"I think that's a good idea," Lauren nodded, looking back at Gilbert.

"Me too. So now we're the most awesome friends ever!" he declared, pumping a fist in the air.

"Yeah!" the girl agreed, nodding furiously.

"Lauren, honey," Selena suddenly called from the kitchen. "Come help mommy with the silverware!"

"Okay! I gotta go help my mommy now, we're still putting stuff away."

"Okay." Gilbert nodded. "I'll come help." He followed the girl into the kitchen, Ludwig still clutching his shirt. Abelard smiled slightly when he saw the two kids already getting along. Usually Gilbert caused trouble with whatever new child he met, especially those his age - though, the kids had always been boys. Perhaps he didn't feel as competitive around girls, or maybe less insecure about his superiority?

"Bah," the German mumbled. "I'm looking too far into a simple thing." He shook his head slowly and followed after his nephews, unsure if the woman would be so welcoming of strangers in her house so suddenly. "Miss Selena," he started.

"Jus Selena, please," she waved it off, taking a stack of plates and sliding them into a cupboard.

"Then, Selena. If my nephews are being a bother-" Again, he didn't get to finish his sentence.

"Oh, no, not at all! They're both little sweethearts," she insisted, passing a few forks to Gilbert, who handed them to Ludwig, who gave them to Brent, who turned and presented them to his sister, who placed them methodically into a drawer from her place on a stool. He watched the chain repeat itself a few times, somehow mesmerized by the simplicity, then shook himself of it and spoke again.

"Are you sure? If you would like to take the time to adjust to your new home, I can bring them back at a later date."

"No, no," she said again. "I don't mind at all! Please, make yourself at home. I've already set up the den and the bedrooms, the TV's working downstairs," she notified him, still unpacking a large box labelled, "kITcEn" in messy scrawls. Probably Lauren's work.

"If you are sure," he hesitated, not wanting to intrude. Still, the woman insisted, so he went down a flight of hardwood stairs to a fresh-smelling room, already organized into a family den or TV room. He sat down cautiously on the larger couch, picking up the remote and turning on the television. It blasted a kid's show immediately and he turned the volume down to a lower setting, a bit frazzled from the sudden noise. Fortunately, it attracted Ludwig, who called for him from the top of the stairs and held his arms up, much like Brent had done before.

"_Fernseher (television),_" he said plainly when his uncle reached down to pick him up.

"_Ja,_ we'll find a documentary or something." Abelard sat on the couch again, suddenly much more comfortable with his younger nephew in his arms. Indeed, he had grown used to the young one's presence quite quickly.

In the kitchen, Selena watched as her daughter and the pale young boy now called her friend duelled with plastic sporks, exaggerating everything and calling each other Laurius and Gillius. She wasn't quite certain how this pretend death match had started, but it ended quickly enough with Lauren sitting on Gilbert's chest and declaring herself awesome.

"I'm still more awesome!" Gilbert complained, wriggling about.

"Nuh-uh! We're in my house, so I'm more awesome!"

"Well then let's go to my house and then I'll be more awesome!"

"Why don't you two go play outside with Kali and Juno?" Selena offered.

"Okay!" Lauren stood and shot off into the backyard, clutching Gilbert's hand and dragging him along.

Abelard found his other nephew, who had been petting a large malamute by the name of Juno, next to the young girl Lauren who held a cat named Kali in her lap. She had quite clearly labelled the animals as such when the tall man had come to retrieve his nephew, who - unsurprisingly - didn't want to leave. His younger brother pointed to the ground and Abelard deposited him on the grass, watching as he toddled over and smacked his brother on the head.

"Home," he declared, going back to his uncle and asking to be picked up. Gilbert whined, but stood up while rubbing his head and waved goodbye to Lauren.

"Bye-bye Lolly," he said with a bright grin.

"Bye-bye," Ludwig copied, waving over his uncle's shoulder.

"Bye Gilly, bye Luddy!" Lauren waved back at the toddler and followed them as they went through the side gate. She ran into the house and watched them through a window for a moment, then looked up when her mother came in. "We gonna see them again?" she asked curiously.

"Of course! You're friends with them, aren't you?" Selena smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry, they live just down the street. You can see them every day if you want!"

At that, Lauren grinned brightly and hugged her mother around the waist, excited at the prospect of seeing her new awesome friend again.

* * *

><p>Notes<p>

Lolly is pronounced "Loh-lee"

Not "lah-lee".

She is not a lollipop.

Yep! Gilbert gets a best friend.


	3. Year 2: Roof

**Year 2**

Lauren watched as Gilbert climbed the ladder to the roof, which had been left out when a man had come to clean the gutters after the spring season had started. The rungs were almost too far apart for his short arms to reach, but being an adventurous and determined six year old, he managed to get to the roof. He crawled up towards the peak and stared at the sky around him - open blue expanses as far as he could see, with a few clouds interrupting it in a few places.

"Come up, Lauren!" he called out, laughing excitedly. "It's really nice!"

"Okay!" The girl grinned to herself and scaled the ladder like a tiny monkey, having watched and learned from Gilbert's slow-going mistakes. She also kneeled down on the roof, not liking the slanted tiles. The angle wasn't too harsh, but it felt unnatural and so she crawled over to Gilbert to ensure that she wouldn't tumble away. "Wow," she said, drawing out the vowel. "It's so pretty and blue! Like your uncle's eyes!"

"I know!" Gilbert smiled at her and held out a hand. "Come on." She accepted it and he pulled her to the peak, where she sat next to him and stared up at the sky. The two kids were silent for a moment.

"We shouldn't be up here," Lauren said quietly. "Mommy would get mad."

"Did she say not to climb the ladder?"

"... No."

"Well it's okay then!"

Lauren gave him an odd look, a bit confused at his logic. "But it's dangerous! And mommy always says not to do anything dangerous."

"It's not that bad," the pale boy grumbled. He brightened and pointed. "Hey, that cloud looks like pancakes!"

"Mm, pancakes," the girl replied. "And over there kind of looks like a potato."

"They _all_ look like potatoes."

"I thought we said that one looks like pancakes?"

"Then it doesn't look like a potato!"

Lauren giggled at his pout and poked his cheek. "Silly," she taunted.

"That's not nice," he grumbled, looking away and crossing his arms. He was silent for a moment before he started to chuckle. "Potatoes," he repeated. Lauren laughed a bit as well, then they both fell into peals of bright laughter about the words "potatoes", saying it every few seconds to prompt more laughter.

"We should probably get down now," Lauren said. "Mommy might come outside and see us, and then she'll yell at us."

"Right. That's not awesome."

"Nope!"

Gilbert, saying that he was more awesome and should go first, crawled backwards to the ladder, very carefully watching his balance. Really, he wanted to go first in case it was too hard to get down and someone fell, and he didn't want his friend to get hurt. When his foot hit empty air he squeaked and pulled it back, looking over his shoulder to find that the ladder was a bit to the right. He shimmied over and secured himself on the first rung, then turned to Lauren and gestured. "Come on, it's safe!"

"Okay." She shimmied off the peak, but lost her balance and slid down the roof, desperately trying to catch a tile or stop herself from falling victim to gravity. Unfortunately, she couldn't stop herself and she plummeted off the edge of the roof, opening her mouth to let out a shrill scream. It stuck in her throat when something caught the back of her sweater, jolting her and letting her swing back and forth in midair. She dangled for a moment, in shock as she stared at the ground below her, then came back to her senses and scrambled for a hold on the ladder. When she was safe on the rungs she gasped for air and looked up at Gilbert, who was smiling encouragingly.

"See? Told you it was safe. I'm here."

"Right." She nodded and carefully clambered down the ladder, her feet hitting the ground just as she collapsed shakily and started to cry, tears starting as she sobbed openly. Gilbert followed quickly, jumping off the second to last rung to hug her. "Th-that was s-so scary!" she cried, clutching at him desperately.

"I-it's okay!" he said, tears also welling up in his eyes. He had nearly lost his friend, and young as he was, even he knew that falling from such a height would have seriously hurt her, if not killed her. "I'm here, r-right? So it's okay!"

Lauren spent a good three minutes crying into his shirt before calming herself into sniffles and hiccups, still holding onto Gilbert's snot and tear soaked shirt. "I am never going onto a roof again."

"That's okay," Gilbert replied uneasily, not quite sure what else he could say. "I saved you, since I'm so awesome, and I couldn't let my awesome friend die, right?"

"R-right." She returned his smile with her own watery one and wiped her eyes desperately. "I don't think we should tell mommy about this."

"No." Gilbert shook his head solemnly. "We'd get in a lot of trouble and uncle would yell a lot."

"So... so we'll just say we saw a really big dog and it growled at us."

"Right. And the guy with the dog gave us a really mean look."

"Okay."

They smiled again and both sniffled, Gilbert trying to hold in his tears and Lauren trying to recover from them.

* * *

><p>Ahhh she fell.<p>

Not really.

Yeah, not everything is going to be fluffy. Some angst will also pop up.

Duh, they're growing up!


	4. Year 3: Bath Time

**Year 3**

"Gilbert!" Lauren called out. "You shouldn't be doing that!"

"It's okay! I'm awesome!" he replied loudly, balancing on a rotting log.

"It might break!"

"No it won't," he scoffed, making his way back to shore. "There." He held out his arms and bowed. "The awesome me would like to thank you for watching the awesome show!"

"You're weird," Lauren smiled. "I think Abelard called us for lunch."

"Food?" he demanded, perking up immediately. "We must go!" He pointed and yelled a couple of words in German before running up the hill to the rented log house, followed closely by a protesting Lauren.

"Wait for me! Wait!" she called, trying to catch a root and pull herself a bit further up the weed-infested hill.

The two entered through the back door, traipsing through the house to stop in front of Abelard, who lowered his book and stared evenly at the two. He slowly raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat.

"You're covered in mud," he commented.

"Yup!" Gilbert grinned brightly.

"You are _covered_ in _mud_," the man repeated, as though changing his tone would change the response. It didn't.

"Yup!" Lauren said, also smiling widely.

"Go get cleaned up and then we'll eat," he sighed, removing his reading glasses and slipping them into the leather protective pocket. He watched as the two giggled on their way up the stairs, and cracked a tiny smile when Ludwig saw them and immediately started to follow, calling for _bruder und schwester (brother and sister)_ to wait. The blond stared blankly at the messy trail of mud splattered in a clear trail through the rented house, then groaned and got to his feet to clean it up.

In the bathroom, Gilbert and Lauren were helping Ludwig undress, struggling a bit with the button on his tiny pair of jeans before the girl finally managed to pop it open. "Got it!" she crowed proudly, stepping back and letting Ludwig step out of the clothes. Gilbert gathered their clothes in a messy pile in the corner of the tiled white bathroom, which was rather large - enormous, really, to two seven year olds and a four year old. Together they managed to gather the things necessary for a bath, and Ludwig watched as the two older ones fiddled with the numerous dials on the bathtub.

"No, I think that's for cold," Gilbert said. "No, wait, cold is this one."

"So what's this one do?" She turned the dial and a spray of bubble bath shot out. She shrieked and giggled, quickly shutting it off, and tried another one. Super-heated water poured out and she shut it off, as well. "Too hot!" she protested.

"Okay, so that's bubbles and that's hot, and this is cold... So which one turns on the little water things?"

"The jets?"

"Yeah."

"This one." Ludwig turned a much smaller dial until it pointed to the number 6, and water flowed out of the filtered holes inlaid in the large tub. It was lukewarm, so Lauren turned the hot water dial a little. Gilbert grinned and ruffled Ludwig's hair.

"That's my awesome little brother!" he praised. The little blond smiled up at his older sibling with a quiet thank you.

"Okay, Luddy first!" Lauren turned off the hot water and pressed the button Abelard had pointed out earlier, saying that if they ever wanted a bath, they'd need to press it. So she did and the water started to shoot out of the jets, frothing the soap already in the tub and turning it into a real bubble bath. She squealed in delight and picked up Ludwig, who let her do so without complaint, and deposited him near the edge, quickly clambering in after him. Gilbert also got into the giant bath, laughing at Ludwig after depositing a large amount of bubbles on his head. The child remained impassive until the paler boy started to rub the bubbles into his hair.

"No, need shampoo!" he protested weakly, trying to wipe the bubbles off his head. Gilbert giggled and continued until Lauren waved him away and cupped water in her hands, using it to get rid of the soapy mess on Ludwig's cranium.

"Mommy says that we have to use shampoo then conditioner on the head! And soap everywhere else."

"Fine," Gilbert pouted, grabbing a bottle and inspecting it. "How do we know which is which?"

"You don't read yet?" Lauren asked curiously.

"Yes I can!" he defended immediately. "Not in English, though. In German, cause it's more awesome."

"Okay. Well, that's shampoo," she said, taking a look at the bottle. "And it's okay if you can't read English. I'll read it for you, and you can read German for me."

"Okay." Gilbert nodded at this reasonable agreement and poured some of the liquid into his hand. Rubbing it into Ludwig's hair was a bit of a chore, as he had to concentrate not to get any in his brother's eyes. Lauren soaked a wash cloth in warm water, then folded it into a rectangle and held it over Ludwig's eyes.

"Hold this to your face and turn your head a little, this way." She grabbed his head just as he took hold of the cloth and tilted it back a bit. "Mommy has me do this when she washes my hair." Then she added her short, chubby fingers to the boy's hair and helped wash it, sharing a smile with Gilbert.

* * *

><p>Aaand we're back to cute again.<p> 


	5. Year 4: Animals

**Year 4**

The kids watched in awe as a bear clambered up the nearby tree with ease, coming very close to the people watching from a higher perch. It wasn't close enough to reach them and there was a chain link fence placed over the enclosure, but the spectators were close enough to see its shining eyes and wide maw when it yawned.

"It's so cute," Lauren said plainly. "I want one!" she said, looking up to her mother with wide eyes.

"We'll see," she replied with an easy smile. "I don't think you can get one of these bears, but I'll keep my eye out for one we can bring home."

"Yay! Thank you mommy," Lauren crowed, hugging her legs. "Can we get one for Gilly too? And one for Luddy?"

"Sure. We'll get you each one - but only if we find them! We might not," Selena warned.

"I know," Lauren replied, turning back to watch the massive brown creature stretch out on a thick tree limb. "Can we go see the otters next? They're really cute too."

"Of course, sweetie, whatever you want."

"Yay!" the child cried again, giggling happily.

They reached the otter enclosure and Lauren ran to the high fence, leaning over the top to watch the lithe aquatic creatures slip in and out of the water with ease. One stood on its hind legs to observe the newcomers and she waved at it, but the creature didn't react. Her mother gently grabbed her upper arm, worried she would fall despite the fact that her head barely came over the thick wooden fence, and smiled when her daughter laughed in delight

On their way out of the zoo, the mother and daughter found their way into the gift shop, where piles of animal-related items waited to be perused.

When the pair reached home again, right around dinner time, Lauren excitedly ran to her friend's house to drop off the gifts. Her mother laughed and told her to look both ways, and to come home right away for dinner. Brent was inside with his aunt, who had taken him to the aquarium earlier because he preferred it over the zoo, and greeted his mother eagerly.

Just down the street, Lauren rang the doorbell and waited a few moments, bouncing on her heels, before ringing it eagerly a few more times to make sure the people inside heard it. Abelard's voice came through the thick wood before the lock clicked and it opened. He looked irate for a moment before he looked down and saw Lauren, who grinned and showed off the two plushies in her hands.

"Hi!"

"Hello," he greeted, smiling and letting her slip by his leg into the house. "We were just about to start dinner."

"We are too," she confirmed. "I got some stuffies for Gilly and Luddy," she declared, holding them up as best she could, proud of her gifts. Abelard smiled and gestured towards the stairs.

"Well, we don't want the two to get their new friends dirty, do we? Why don't you go put them on their beds, and they'll see them later?"

"But I wanted to see their reactions," she countered, deflating slightly.

"I can bring them over to your house for a little after dinner so they can thank you properly," he tried, not wanting the little girl to be disappointed. She smiled brightly again and nodded.

"Okay! I'll go put them upstairs." She climbed the stairs with some difficulty and Abelard watched with amusement. She went to Gilbert's room, further away from the master bedroom which belonged to the uncle, and left without the black eagle plushie - which meant that the dog plushie, which looked suspiciously like a German Sheppard, went to Ludwig.

She left right away, but made sure to get a promise from Abelard first in order to ensure that he would indeed bring his nephews to her house so she could see how happy they were with their gifts.

The boys had heard her, though, and immediately drilled him for answers when he reentered the kitchen.

"I heard Lolly, _Onkle (uncle),_" Gilbert started. "Where is she? Is she gonna eat with us?"

"Where is _schwester (sister)_?" Ludwig demanded, blue eyes piercing the nearly identical ones of his uncle. "She was here."

"She just brought some things over. You can see them after dinner, and then we're going to see her for a little bit."

"Why didn't she come to say hi?" Gilbert went on mercilessly, staring at his uncle and waiting for a legitimate answer. "She always does."

"She didn't want to ruin the surprise. Eat, and then you can go see her." Though he was glad they were such good friends, the kids could get quite tiring, quite quickly. Even after saying they would be seeing her within the hour, he could still feel their glares occasionally through dinner - effective, even for an eight year old and a sibling three years his junior.

Dinner was a quiet, rapid affair, and Abelard had the feeling that not enough time had passed to allow their neighbours to finish eating, as well. So he told the two to go to their rooms, but didn't have the time to finish his sentence before Gilbert cried out in anger.

"What? Why! We didn't do anything wrong!"

"You also didn't let me finish speaking," Abelard sighed. "You each have a present from Lauren in your rooms. That's why she was over here earlier."

"...Oh." Gilbert seemed to deflate, then reinflated rather quickly. "Awesome!"

"What is it?" Ludwig asked.

"Why don't you go see?" the man replied tiredly, rubbing a hand over his face as the two quickly clambered up the stairs. When they got to their rooms, each had their own reaction: Gilbert yelled out something unintelligible and laughed, and Ludwig cooed something - also unintelligible - and came downstairs to show off his new stuffed dog to his uncle, smiling brightly.

"It's so soft!" he said, hugging the toy.

"It's awesome!" Gilbert corrected, leaping down the last two stairs and holding up his black eagle. "Just like the one on the Prussian flag, eh uncle?"

"Indeed." He let them be distracted by the gifts for about twenty minutes, and as their attention on the plushies started to wane he spoke up. "How about we go to see Lauren now?"

"Yeah!" the siblings cried at the same time. Somehow, Ludwig had ended up piggy-back on his brother, with the eagle in his hands and the dog in Gilbert's paler ones. At least they could share with each other, if not others.

They reached the house shortly, the two switching plushies again, and Gilbert knocked eagerly, waiting with a bright grin. "Now, remember to thank both Lauren and Selena," Abelard said. "They got you such fun gifts, didn't they?"

"Yep." Gilbert nodded sagely. "They're both pretty awesome."

"The door is opening now," Ludwig stated, tugging on his uncle's pant leg. The older blonde looked up just in time to catch Selena's eyes as she smiled.

"Hello, you two!" she greeted, squatting down to allow the two to hug her eagerly. "And hello, Abelard. I thought you'd be coming over when Lauren told me what happened. Come in, come in."

"Are we interrupting your dinner?" he asked cautiously.

"Not at all, we were just finishing up cleaning. Lauren!" she called, which resulted in Lauren storming down the stairs with Brent not too far behind, each with their own stuffed animals. Brent held an otter tightly, while Lauren's plushies was shaped like a black bear. She greet Gilbert with a hug, then turned and embraced Ludwig as well. Brent hid behind her, still quite shy even though he knew the visitors, and Ludwig went to show off his dog plushie. Soon, the two were comparing animals, talking about each one.

"I like otters better," Brent said. "They're really cute and swim really well."

"A German Sheppard does its job loyally," Ludwig explained. "And they run very fast."

Lauren and Gilbert, too, were paying special attention to their toys. "Bears are so cute," Lauren gushed, hugging it tightly. "Black bears are really good climbers, too. The zookeeper told me, cause they're not as big as other bears, so they're faster. And they really like raspberries! I do too. And bears are strong. And awesome."

"Well, eagles are awesome cause they're really strong too! Just in the sky instead, right, and they fly really fast and swoosh down and catch stuff! They're like... the kings of the sky!"

"I like bears better," Lauren insisted.

"Then you can have a bear, and I'll have an eagle," Gilbert compromised, holding his black eagle closely. "Oh! I know something you don't!"

"And I know stuff you don't," Lauren replied, slightly confused. "So what?"

"So what!" he scoffed. "Prussia is the most awesome country ever. And it has a black eagle on its flag!"

"... Prussia?" she asked.

"Yeah, right next to Germany!"

"Oh! I remember." She nodded a few times. "But doesn't it not exist anymore?"

"Shush. Yes it does." He pouted. "Anyway, Prussia is awesome and so am I. Since I have an eagle now, I can be Prussian!"

"But... you're German," she retorted quietly, still confused.

"Well I can be both," he concluded. "Just like you're part German and part... other stuff. The German is where your awesome is from."

"Okay." She still sounded quite doubtful, but the agreement was enough for Gilbert, who lifted his eagle and brought it back down with a swoosh towards his friend. She squeaked and held up her bear in defence, and the battle began.

* * *

><p>Yep, still cute.<p> 


	6. Year 5 pt 1: Sick

**Year 5**

Lauren yawned and followed Gilbert down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She took her customary place at the kitchen table and waited as Abelard finished cooking the eggs and sausages.

"Good morning Abelard," she greeted with a smile.

"Morning _Onkle (uncle)_! What's for breakfast?" Gilbert demanded, grinning cheekily when his uncle turned to glare at the pale boy.

"Eggs and sausages," he said blandly, turning back to the stove. "Where's your brother?"

"Still asleep," Lauren replied. "I checked."

"Hm. I'll go get him then. Even if he's sick, he still needs to eat. Wait a moment for your food, Gilbert. We don't want any accidents." Abelard patted Gilbert's head on his way to the staircase. Gilbert grinned at his friend and slipped off the chair.

"C'mon, let's get food!" he whispered loudly, gesturing her forward.

"No! Abelard said to wait." She pouted, but followed him to the stove. He reached up for a pot handle, about to grab it when Lauren pulled him away. "No, it's not a good idea. Mommy told me once about when Uncle David tried to use the oven when he was little, and got hurt real bad."

"This isn't an oven!" Gilbert pointed out, giving her a strange look. "It's a stove."

"But they both get real hot," she counted. "Abelard said to wait, so we should wait! You don't want to get in trouble," she said, tugging on his sleeve. "We should wait."

He frowned at her, then shrugged. "Fine." They retook their seats just as Abelard entered with Ludwig in his arms. He deposited the youngest boy in a highchair and went back to the stove to get the food.

Later that day, Gilbert and Lauren were watching a children's program on TV. Abelard had left the house to fetch something from the pharmacy for his youngest nephew, Ludwig was having another nap, and the two kids had nothing better to do for the time being. Still, the program was entertaining enough to distract Gilbert from any trouble, and silly enough to keep Lauren from getting bored.

"I think we should go check on Luddy," Lauren said suddenly during a commercial break. "Since he's sick and all."

"Yeah, okay," Gilbert nodded, and they slipped off the couch to go upstairs.

"Okay, he's asleep," Lauren confirmed, peeking into the younger sibling's room. "I think."

"Let me look," Gilbert said, frowning. He went up to the small bed and peeked over the edge at his brother. "... Ludwig?" he asked tentatively. "Lud?" He shook the small frame, which didn't move.

"Gilly?" Lauren said quietly.

"Something's wrong," Gilbert said quietly.

"What?"

"I don't know."

"Well..." Lauren thought for a moment. "I know!" she said. "Mommy said that if something really bad happens and we can't tell her or Abelard, we can call... uh..."

"Nine-one-one," Gilbert replied. "I'm gonna stay with Ludwig, you get a phone!" he directed. Lauren rushed off to Abelard's bedroom, which had a phone next to the bed, and picked it up, dialling as quickly as she could.

"Hello, 911, what is your accident?"

"Ludwig isn't waking up," Lauren said quickly. "Abelard isn't here cause he went to get something, and Ludwig is only six and me and Gilly are only nine so we don't know what's wrong."

"Where are you?"

"Um..." She thought hard for a moment to recall the addresses her mother had had her memorize. "Uh, 6784 Lakeview," she said slowly.

"Is Ludwig breathing?"

"Lemme ask Gilly." She held the phone away from her face as she had often seen her mother do and called out. "Gilbert! Is Luddy breathing?"

"No!" came the panicked reply.

"No," she repeated into the phone.

"An ambulance will arrive shortly," the operator said in a comforting voice. "Some doctors who can help will be there too. How old did you say you were?"

"I'm nine," she replied. "So is Gilbert. Ludwig is six."

"Thank you. Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?"

"I think I should go see Gilly."

"Alright. It won't be very long."

"Thank you." She stretched up and placed the phone back on its bed, then scurried over to Ludwig's room, where Gilbert was quietly crying and shaking his brother's shoulder.

"Luddy, this isn't funny. West, come on, wake up." Lauren stood next to her friend, watching with a bit of a clueless expression.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know!" Gilbert wailed. "Ludwig!" he cried out, hugging his little brother and rocking back and forth. Something was very, very wrong and he could tell. Lauren sensed it as well, young though she was, and quietly hugged her friends.

"The person on the phone said that an ambulance would be here in a bit," she said over Gilbert's tears and wails. "And some doctors that can help. I'm gonna go wait for them and open the door."

"O-okay," the pale boy sniffed, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "I'll stay with Ludwig."

"Okay." She patted his head and went downstairs to the front door to wait. Within about a minute, soon enough to surprise her, she heard the wailing sirens of an ambulance approach and unlocked the door, opening it with some difficulty. Two men in uniforms rushed up to the house, holding a stretcher, and a third kneeled down in front of her with a smile.

"Hey there, I'm Doctor Herzl. Can you tell me where Ludwig is?"

"Upstairs, over there," she said, pointing to where Ludwig's room was located.

"Alright. We're going to go help him. Francine here will stay with you, okay?"

A lady in the same uniform as the two men squatted down with a smile identical to the doctor's. She asked Lauren a few basic questions, such as where she lived and why no adults were present. However, the girl didn't answer them, instead saying that someone should get Gilbert because he'd want to stay with his brother. The paramedic promised that they would both be coming to the hospital with Ludwig, and asked if Lauren could call an adult she knew - her own mother or father, or that of the two boys.

"Daddy went to Heaven," she said. "And Gilly and Luddy's daddy did too, and their mommy doesn't want to see them," she replied easily. The woman gave a pained frown and asked who the boys lived with. "Their Uncle Abelard. He's really nice and takes really good care of them."

"That's good, but why did he leave you three alone?"

"Well, Abelard said we can go see Mr. Saeed or Teta, just a few houses over there, if we needed something, and Mommy is at home right now, over there," she pointed the other way. "But mommy always said that if something very bad happens we should call 911 right away."

"Well, your mommy was right," Francine said. "I think we should go see your mother, okay? She can bring you and Gilbert to the hospital right beside the ambulance."

"Okay." Lauren nodded and stooped down to get her shoes. The two men with the stretcher rushed out the front door with the doctor behind them, and Gilbert ran down the stairs sobbing for his little brother. "That's Gilbert," she pointed out unnecessarily.

"Alright. Hey Gilbert," Francine said soothingly, catching the boy by the arms. He struggled, so Lauren reached over and tugged on the back of his shirt.

"That's Francine," she introduced loudly over the boy's screams. "She's really nice and is going to bring us to mommy so she can bring us to the hospital after Ludwig."

"L-Luddy," he sobbed.

"Okay." Lauren nodded and shoved his shoes on his feet, trying and failing to tie them. Francine did it for her and helped the girl with her own sneakers. "We can go now." She looked up to Francine. "Remember to look both ways before crossing the street!" she warned.

"I will." The woman smiled reassuringly and picked up Gilbert, since he was unresponsive.

It didn't take long to explain things to Selena, who immediately rushed to call Abelard and tell him the grim news. He had already been on his way home, and stopped in front of Lauren's home within a couple of minutes. He ran up to the front door and grabbed Gilbert, who was still sobbing with heart-rending cries for his little brother, and explained to Francine that he would answer any questions after he was assured that Ludwig would be alright. Before she could protest he was off, Gilbert strapped into his car seat, still crying.

"I think we should go too," Lauren told her mother wisely.

"Yes, we are going, honey. Francine, do you...?"

"I have a ride with the police squad car. Thank you." She smiled, the expression a bit strained, and jogged back to the Beilschmidt house, where a police car was indeed waiting for her, idling at the side of the street.

"Come on, sweetie." Selena picked up her daughter and brought her into the house. "We'll go in a minute. I just need to call someone, okay?"

"Okay." Lauren nodded and waited patiently in between the front door and the inner one, a glass and wood door that was more for decoration than anything. It also served to keep Juno in the house while they were out gardening, or when the pizza guy came with the delicious food. However, waiting proved to be too boring and she got her boots on, since she didn't need to tie them, slipped her small blue jacket on, and reached up to take her mother's car keys from the hook on the inside of the closet. Sometimes her mother forget to take them, so she would often do it for her.

Finally, after what seemed like hours but was really only about ten minutes, her mother joined her and in a flurry of movement had her shoes and spring coat on, her purse over her shoulder and her daughter in her arms. The door slammed shut, the deadbolt in the doorknob clicking with a strange kind of finality, and Selena rushed to her car, pausing when she reached for her keys - which she didn't have. She groaned and started to turn.

"I have the keys," Lauren said quietly, holding them out for her mother. Selena took them with a smile.

"Thank you." She buckled the child into the backseat and shut the door carefully, not wanting to catch a foot or hand in the process. The car started with ease and she pulled out of the driveway, trying not to race over the speed limit in her worry.

The hospital, Lauren soon decided, was a very unpleasant place. It was crowded and loud and sickly and kids were sick all over the place, sniffling and coughing and a couple were even vomiting. Some parents were almost sick themselves because of worry - some merely sighed and held a tissue to their child's nose, telling them to blow with a tired look. A couple of nurses hurried back and forth with papers or little bins, but Lauren didn't get a good look at anyone, as her mother was pulling her along to the front desk.

"Hi, we need to find someone?"

"A patient?"

"Yes. Well, no, his father."

"Name?" the man asked, a bit bored.

"Beilschmidt."

"... I'm sorry, ma'am. There are no visitors allowed in the emergency rooms."

"I told you, I'm looking for his father! The man's probably close to tearing this place apart in worry, and Ludwig's brother doesn't need to see that."

"Fine. Room 2073, down that hall to the left, then a right. You should see them soon."

"Thank you." She squeezed Lauren's hand tightly and rushed down the hall, nearly dragging her much shorter daughter, who had to run to keep up. "There." She slowed as she approached Abelard, who was sitting on a visitor's bench with his face in his hands. Gilbert was sitting next to him, stoically trying to keep his tears in. Selena placed a hand on the man's shoulder and he started slightly, looking up at her with a haggard, worried look on his ashen face.

"They said he had brain damage," the German man muttered. "That his brain didn't receive oxygen for an extended period of time and it damaged his neural passageways."

"Is he breathing now?" Selena asked gently, sitting next to him. Lauren shuffled over to Gilbert and climbed onto the bench next to him, taking his hand and squeezing it gently without a word. He offered her a weak smile, which soon wobbled and fell as he held his breath to stop a sob from erupting.

"Yes. They have him on a ventilator," he replied, rubbing his face roughly. "They said... they told me that the mucus built up in his chest, from his cold, and that it blocked his esophagus... so he couldn't breathe. If... if Lauren hadn't wanted to check on him, if she hadn't gone to see him... then he..." He choked back his own sob and let his head fall back into his hands. Selena rubbed his back soothingly, knowing exactly what he had meant to say.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Lauren asked curiously, overhearing the adults speaking but not really understanding their words.

"I... _Gott (God)_, please, I hope so," Abelard replied without lifting his head. "If something happens to that boy..." He took a deep, shuddering breath and leaned back, blinking furiously to rid himself of tears. He looked down at Gilbert and patted his knee, a familiar invitation to sit on his lap. The pale boy was there in seconds, clutching his Oxford shirt and bawling into the man's chest, the sound barely muffled. Lauren felt herself start to cry as a result and also hugged Abelard, squeezing his arm and crying quietly. He hesitated, then slowly reached over and patted her head before using his only free arm to comfort his nephew. Selena moved to sit next to her daughter, who instead hugged her mother, freeing Abelard's other hand to hold his crying boy.

* * *

><p>Oh noes, Ludwig is hurt.<p> 


	7. Year 5 pt 2: Memories

**Cont. from Year 5**

It wasn't too long before a doctor approached with a man in a suit, who greeted Selena with a smile and a handshake. He introduced himself to Abelard as "miss Kunriak's lawyer", and said he'd help the man with whatever he needed. He also said that no payment was necessary unless they actually went to court over something. Abelard sighed, handed Gilbert to Selena, and stood to go to another room with the other two men. Gilbert was tired from his crying and merely nestled into Selena's embrace, who smiled sadly and stroked his hair. Lauren grabbed his hand and let herself fall limp against her mother.

Abelard, on the other hand, was much too tense for his health. The doctor told him that Ludwig's cold had gone from average sniffles to pneumonia in a matter of minutes - more specifically, about ten minutes. The virus had been mutating and had become much worse before his immune system could get rid of it, clogging his airways with mucus and halting his breathing for about four minutes. Thankfully, it had been relatively easy to clear a path with the right tools, which the ambulance had brought with it, so brain damage would be minimal, though still permanent.

"What does that mean?" Abelard said quietly, trying not to fall into a rage - at himself, for leaving the children alone. Even for the short fifteen minute trip to the pharmacy. Even with their Teta nearby, Mr. Saeed nearby, and Selena nearby. He had failed his nephews.

"He'll most likely suffer from memory loss," the doctor said. "He'll keep his physical functions, such as eating, sleeping, speaking, using the toilet. The worst case scenario, he'll lose all memory of language that he's learned and he'll need to relearn it. Best case scenario, he loses memory of, say, a visit to the zoo and how to pronounce a couple of big words."

"And when will we know?" Abelard said quietly, composing himself so as not to cry.

"When we wakes, in about an hour. His breathing stabilized quickly and the minor surgery to clear his lungs was completely successful. You can see him when he's up and ask some questions, if you like."

"Thank you." The blond man nodded slowly and sighed. "Is there anything else?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes. We're... concerned that you were neglectful. Now, I know that you really don't need to hear this, but I need to know a few things."

"What."

"How long were you gone?"

"Maybe ten, twelve minutes."

"And you knew he was sick."

"Yes. I brought him to his paediatrician two days ago and she gave us a prescription for a nasal spray that was supposed to clear his esophagus."

"And who was nearby to help the children should something go wrong?"

"A next-door neighbour, Mr. Saeed, two doors down, Ms. Shabara, and the mother of the boys' friend on the corner of the street."

"How well do you know these individuals?"

"Very well. Mr. Saeed has his grandchildren over every weekend and my boys play with them almost every time. Ms. Shabara is practically a grandmother to them and takes care of them when I'm at work. Selena is Lauren's mother - Lauren is the young girl who was with Gilbert. The woman was Selena." He was blabbering. That was a first. "I... that nasal spray was supposed to prevent things like this. It... didn't do anything, apparently."

"Indeed." The doctor nodded and blinked a few times, looking down, then back up. "Well, alright. From what I've heard this is just a very unfortunate accident. There was no way you could've known that the virus would mutate and the kids were pretty much completely safe with three trusted neighbours so close. That girl, Lauren, you said?" Abelard nodded. "She was very smart to check up on Ludwig, and to stay calm through all that is pretty amazing for a nine year old. Your other nephew also did very well to remember to call 911. Most kids would run to a parent first."

"Thank you." The doctor's words had no effect on Abelard, save to remind him that Lauren had pretty much saved Ludwig's life, and he took a deep breath. "Thank you," he repeated, more firmly. "I'm going to go wait for Ludwig to wake. If you need me again, I will be in front of his room."

"Alright."

Waiting was pure hell. All he could think of was "what if" situations. What if Lauren hadn't checked up on Ludwig? What if Gilbert hadn't said to call 911? What if Ludwig had died? What if, what if, what if...? The possibilities were needling his heart and mind, breaking him down from the inside, and he slowly felt himself approaching actual tears for the first time in... In a very long time.

"Uncle?" Gilbert whispered quietly in German, his eyes wide and fearful. "What if... What if he doesn't remember me?"

He couldn't answer. Selena, waiting with them, spoke up instead. "Then you'll make new memories," she smiled, patting his arm gently. "Don't worry. Even if he doesn't remember you in his head, he'll remember you in his heart."

"But..." Gilbert paused. "It won't be the same."

"You two will always be brothers," Selena promised. Lauren looked up from her colouring book and patted Gilbert's head comfortingly. He accepted it gracefully.

"I think he's waking up now," Lauren mentioned after a moment of silence. Indeed, doctors were checking his IV and his heart monitor, along with the numerous other machines, and one turned and motioned to Gilbert, who had decided to get up and wait just outside the door. He grinned and ran inside, jumping onto one of the chairs provided for visitors. Ludwig slowly came to, blinking groggily and turning his head to watch the doctors. Then, he looked over at Gilbert, whose smile somehow widened as he greeted Ludwig in English.

"Hey Luddy! How are you feeling?"

"... Fine." He was hesitant, probably still very tired from the surgery and the drugs.

"Good!" Gilbert seemed to relax, as though thinking that his brother remembered him for sure. "Uncle, Selena, and Lauren are here too. Brent stayed at home."

"... Brent?"

''Yeah! Lauren's little brother."

"Who... is Lauren?"

"That's me," Lauren said quietly, climbing onto the chair next to Gilbert. "That's your brother Gilbert. I'm your friend. And his. And this is my mommy Selena and that's your uncle Abelard. I like him. He has very nice blue eyes. Like yours."

"Oh." The young blonde blinked slowly, looking at each face. "Um. It's nice to meet you."Abelard made a choking noise and bowed his head, holding a shaking fist to his mouth. Selena let out a sigh and gently pulled him out of the room, leaving a quiet, observing doctor and three confused children.

"You... don't remember me?" Gilbert whispered, staring at his younger brother with wide eyes.

"... No," Ludwig answered hesitantly.

"You don't remember uncle Abelard?"

"No."

"You don't remember our house?"

"I... don't think so."

"You don't remember your room? And the tree in the backyard? Or the garden, or the asparagus we grow every year? Or the smoked trout uncle make sometimes? Or... or..." he petered off, tears welling. "Why don't you remember me?" he shouted, leaping onto the bed and shaking his brother. Lauren cried out in alarm when Ludwig coughed violently and grabbed the paler boy around the middle, pulling him back. He screamed and cried and struggled, and eventually calmed down and sobbed openly.

"W-why don't you remember m-me, Luddy?" he said quietly. "I-I'm your big b-brother."

"I..." Ludwig stared at the crying boy, confused and pained. "I'm sorry," he said hesitantly. "I-I don't know why."

"It's okay," Lauren interjected. "You're still brothers, right? You can ask the doctor, or mommy, or your uncle if you're not sure. So you're brothers and you can just make new memories, right?" she tried a smile at Gilbert, but he didn't react to it. "B-because you're family, and we're still really young, so y-you can just... make new memories." She sniffled and held in her tears, trying to stay calm for her friend. Ludwig was also starting to cry a little and wiped his tears frantically.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't, um, know why I'm crying."

"It's cause you're sad," Lauren replied. "Your silly head made a mistake and forgot some important stuff, but your heart remembers us so you're sad."

"O-oh. That makes sense," he nodded. The doctor wrote something down on his clipboard and sighed quietly in his corner, adjusting his glasses. "Um."

"Maybe... we should start over?" Lauren suggested, still hugging a crying and shaking Gilbert. "I'm Lauren Ganze. I'm nine years old and I like bears and maple walnut ice-cream. It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Ludwig... um."

"B-Beilschmidt," Gilbert croaked. "You're a Beilschmidt."

"I'm Ludwig Beilschmidt." The name rolled off his tongue easily enough, and he held out his hand. Lauren shook it gingerly, careful not to touch the IV needle taped to the back of his hand. "I like... reading and... dogs. I am... um, six years old. It's nice to meet you too, Lauren." The doctor wrote something else, the scratching of his pen a quiet background noise.

Gilbert sniffled loudly and wiped his hand on his shirt before holding it out as well, liking Lauren's idea better than his uncle's, which was to not pressure Ludwig and to just give him a lot of space. "I-I'm Gilbert Beilschmidt. I'm your older brother. I like e-eagles and Prussia and I'm awesome. I'm nine too."

"It's nice to meet you too, Gilbert." Ludwig didn't smile, but shook his hand and held on for a moment. "I... am sorry."

"N-no," Gilbert reigned in his tears. "Don't be. It's not your fault you f-forgot me."

"So we're all friends!" Lauren declared, smiling. "And I have a little brother named Brent. He's your age and he's shy, but you'll like him, I think. You didn't really know him before." She paused and frowned lightly. "I wonder if Aunty gave him a cookie? He always asks for cookies when she comes over." Ludwig laughed a little, coughed, and relaxed against his pillows. The doctor checked his IV, his monitors, and his temperature, then gave Gilbert a pat on the shoulder and left the room. Soon, Abelard and Selena reentered.

"How do you feel?" Selena asked the two older kids, picking Lauren up so she could sit on her mother's lap instead. She reached over and placed a hand on Gilbert's back, who gave her a watery smile.

"I'm okay. We're all friends again." He pointed to Ludwig, then Lauren, and then himself.

"We're gonna make new memories, since Ludwig's silly head forgot some. It was my idea," she stated proudly.

"Well, that's very brave of you to still want to be friends. People who forget their family and have people saying they're related are usually very scared, and people who are forgotten usually feel too hurt by it to still want to be friends."

"I-I'm not scared," Ludwig said quietly, looking down at his hands that were clenching the sheets. "I... think it would be very nice to have an older brother. And Lauren is nice." He smiled at her shyly, then blushed and looked down when she grinned back.

"Thank you!" she crowed.

"Ludwig..." Abelard said quietly, taking one of the two remaining chairs on the other side of the bed. "I am your uncle, Abelard." He gently took his nephew's hand, and when the boy squeezed a couple of the large man's fingers he took a deep breath and pressed his thumb and forefinger to his eyes for a brief moment. "I have been taking care of you and your brother for four years now. You live with me and Gilbert down the street from Lauren and her family." He nodded to the girl, who nodded back furiously and remained silent. Gilbert quietly crawled up the bed to sit next to his brother. When he grabbed him in a hug, Ludwig didn't fight, though he did look mildly uncomfortable. "I'm going to try and keep myself from assuming things about you."

"What does that mean?" Ludwig asked. "Assuming?"

"It means to think something about someone because of the way they look or act, or something," Selena tried to explain. "Even though there's no proof that they're like that."

"I get it." He nodded a few times, turning back to his uncle.

"You are a different person now," Abelard continued, pain evident in his voice and on his face. "You are still my nephew, Gilbert's brother, and Lauren's friend, but you are different, and so I will try my best to learn about the new you and not think of you as the old you."

"Um. Okay." He understood after a moment of thought. "Thank you."

"I will too." Gilbert had finished crying, though his face was a bright red because of his pale skin and his eyes were a bit swollen and still wet. "And I'll protect you and show you the awesome things at home. Again," he added after a brief pause.

"Oh!" Lauren said. "We have Blackie! He's your stuffie. He's a dog."

"A German Sheppard," Gilbert added. Selena smiled and reached into a bag she had brought with her, pulling out the plushie and handing it to her proud daughter. "I got it for you last year at the zoo. You liked it before. Do you still like it?" He offered it and he took it hesitantly, looking it over and squeezing it experimentally.

"... Yes," he said, smiling a little and hugging the dog. "I like it."

"Yay!" Lauren clapped a few times. "So, see?" She poked Gilbert. "He's different, but he's the same."

"What?" Gilbert asked, confused.

"He's different, but he's still kind of the same! He still likes Blackie and dogs. Duh." She made a face and Gilbert whined, and Ludwig laughed quietly. Abelard smiled painfully, enveloping the much smaller hand in his two large ones gently. Ludwig squeezed his fingers again, subconcsiouly seeking comfort and reassurance, and Abelard silently raised the tiny hand to his lips to give it a gentle kiss. Ludwig looked over at him with bright blue eyes.

"I will take care of you, _mein kleiner spatz (my little sparrow, term of endearment)_," he stated softly. "We will all take care of you."


End file.
